15 Retro Tech Giants Born in the ’70s!

Who knew today’s tech wizardry was grooving back in the ’70s? This list is a throwback to when computers took up entire rooms, yet innovation was so far out that it planted the seeds for some of our modern essentials.

1. C Programming Language

The programming language was developed in the early ‘70s at Bell Labs by computer scientist Dennis Ritchie

2. Magnavox Odyssey

The first at-home video game console was released in 1972.

3. Pocket Calculator

The first pocket calculator hit the commercial market in Japan in 1970.

4. The Microwave

The microwave oven was first invented in 1947, however the first commercially-available iterations weren’t created until the late 1970s.

5. Fiber Optics

Turin, Italy, was the first metropolitan area to have fiber optic cables in 1977.

6. The Walkman

The now-iconic gadget, the first commercially-available portable cassette player — was released in 1979.

7. 
Electronic paper

This ‘70s invention, devised at Xerox’s research center in Palo Alto, walked so Kindles could run.

8. VCR Tapes

The first VCR recordings of movies became available in the 1970s.

9. Cell Phones

The first cell phone call took place in 1973.

10. Apple

Long before releasing dumb items like the AppleVision Pro, Apple was founded in 1976.

11. LaserDisc

This rainbow-tinted optical disc first hit shelves in 1978.

12. The PET Scan

These now live-saving scans were invented in 1972.

13. Pong

The iconic video game was invented in 1972.

14. Email

While we may dread them today, the first email was sent in 1971.

15. The Digital Camera

The first digital camera was invented in 1975 by Kodak.

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